This invention relates generally to providing an improved sleeper bed for over-the-road trucks and, more particularly, to a sleeper bed that minimizes the vibration and shock caused by both vertical and horizontal movements of the truck.
An over-the-road trucker is required by law to have a certain number of hours of sleep relative to the number of hours of continuous driving. Most over-the-road truck drivers satisfy this sleep requirement by sleeping in their trucks to avoid the inconvenience, expense, and impracticality of sleeping in a hotel. Accordingly, most over-the-road truck cabs include a sleeping compartment having a bed. The driver can either temporarily suspend driving and sleep in the compartment or sleep in the compartment while a second driver continues to drive. While having two drivers is advantageous relative to meeting shipping deadlines, sound sleep is difficult to obtain in the sleeping compartment of a moving semi-truck.
Various apparatus have been proposed in the prior art for improving the ride of sleeper beds for trucks, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,638,560 and 4,144,601 to Rigdon and Anderson, respectively. These devices, however, are relatively complex in construction and still do not provide optimum comfort relative to all types of forces that may be exerted on the sleeper bed during transit.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a sleeper bed that minimizes vibrations and vertical forces upon the bed caused by bumps in the road. It is also desirable to have a sleeper bed that reduces the effect of horizontal forces upon the bed caused by certain driving maneuvers.